\n\tOn Friday night\u2019s SmackDown, longtime WWE Superstar Randy Orton\u2019s secret adviser putting even more voices in his head was revealed to be none other than McAfee, for some reason. For many fans, it felt out of left field, to borrow an analogy from a legitimate sports competition. Orton and McAfee don\u2019t seem to share any particularly meaningful connection and they generally don\u2019t even work on the same WWE show. In wrestling parlance, McAfee wasn\u2019t even a heel until the reveal \u2014 a turn \u2014 he worked as Raw\u2018s babyface announcer. But McAfee is (storyline) guiding Orton\u2019s wicked attempt to take down the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes<\/a>, the company\u2019s top face, in the (first) main event of WrestleMania 42.<\/p>\n \n\tPer promotional materials, McAfee will be in Orton\u2019s corner on Saturday, April 18. (WrestleMania 42 both continues and concludes the following night.) Consider Rhodes displeased.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a scathing promo on USA Network, Rhodes called McAfee a \u201cstoner, grifter, Logan Paul-without-muscles, human hat rack fly-by-night,\u201d and pretty much all in one breath.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou and everyone who represents you, and I know who I\u2019m talking to, can kiss my ass,\u201d Rhodes added. \u201cOh no, was that too far? What are gonna do, fire me? It sure worked out for you the last time!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking of talent WWE has fired and later brought back, CM Punk<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tThough the World Heavyweight Champion Punk, who is on the Raw roster, has nothing to do with the Rhodes-Orton match, he also took exception to McAfee\u2019s sudden and unexpected involvement.<\/p>\n \n\tOn Monday\u2019s Raw, WWE\u2019s flagship weekly show now on Netflix, Punk called McAfee \u201cPat MAGA-Fee,\u201d a reference to McAfee\u2019s perceived political leanings. (McAfee says he\u2019s apolitical, but also has a relationship with President Trump that included a November 2025 interview. Trump also personally granted McAfee\u2019s request to podcast from the White House\u2019s South Lawn.)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou buggy-whip-armed, no-brain hillbilly,\u201d Punk said of McAfee. \u201cYou think you can come here to the business \u2014 my business \u2014 of pro wrestling \u2014 and run your mouth? Well, you just wrote a check that your narrow ass can\u2019t cash.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMcAfee, in character, essentially called the current state of competition unwatchable, which he blamed for lackluster WrestleMania ticket sales. Orton, McAfee said, is the only man who can save the business. (This was after McAfee kicked Rhodes in the balls, and before Rhodes returned to rip McAfee and his reps.)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou want to talk about ticket sales?\u201d Punk continued. \u201cDo me a favor. Call up that agent that was foolish enough to shoehorn you into this business and this show and tell him to lower the ticket prices.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMcAfee retired from the NFL in 2017 and signed with WWE in 2019. He debuted as a wrestler in 2020.<\/p>\n \n\tBoth Punk and Rhodes were seemingly referring to McAfee\u2019s agent Ari Emanuel. A February Bloomberg report<\/a> stated that Emanuel \u201cis trying to turn Pat McAfee into the next Sylvester Stallone,\u201d which appropriately includes a four-episode arc on Tulsa King, the Taylor Sheridan show that stars (the real) Stallone. It\u2019s a two-way relationship: McAfee produces Emanuel\u2019s own podcast, Rushmore.<\/p>\n \n\tEmanuel is not just a super-agent \u2014 one that could conceivably turn a kickoff specialist into a top action star \u2014 these days. He is president of TKO, the publicly traded company formed by the 2023 merging of WWE with UFC<\/a>. Forget The Rock\u2019s 2024 persona \u2014 Emanuel is the real \u201cFinal Boss\u201d here.<\/p>\n \n\tThe Hollywood Reporter attempted to reach Emanuel, but did not get an immediate response from TKO\u2019s corporate communications.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t(L-R) Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton do battle during SmackDown at Enterprise Center on April 3, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeorgiana Dallas\/WWE\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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